De Beers has made some of the deepest ever cuts to its official diamond prices, potentially signaling an end to its years-long campaign to hold them well above the market rate. The cuts come at the company's first sale since dramatically reducing the number of its handpicked buyers from about 70 to between 45 and 50, a strategy it sees as key to funneling more diamonds to its strongest customers. The exact scale of the price cuts was not immediately clear, but buyers said pricing was now much closer to the secondary market, where De Beers' prices had been between 5% and 50% higher depending on the category of stones. The move comes amid a pullback in Chinese luxury spending, the rising popularity of synthetic stones, and a flood of goods from producers such as Angola, which sold a record amount of stones at prevailing market levels. A spokesperson for the company declined to comment.
Anglo American PLCDe Beers, a subsidiary of Anglo American, made deep price cuts on diamonds, signaling a shift from holding prices above market, which negatively impacts revenue and margins.
De Beers makes deep cuts to official diamond prices, signaling a shift to market rates and reducing margins.